Our former junior senator, John Edwards, has co-authored a piece in The Boston Globe lamenting the (as he sees it) dismal economy. To hear him tell it, we’re in a Grapes of Wrath period in America where manufacturing jobs have given way to unskilled jobs. Here’s his dream:
Imagine what it would mean for such cities and towns as
Boston, Lynn, and Framingham if the wages for hotel workers could match
the wages of disappearing manufacturing jobs. These families would be
able to move out of poverty and into the middle class, which would help
reinvigorate these communities.
Yes, imagine what that would mean. Imagine if a hotel maid saw her
wages jump from $8 an hour to $40. Imagine hotel rooms costing triple
what they cost now. Imagine the hotel laying off half of its maids.
Imagine the hotel going out of business. This is economics according to John Edwards.
